The heart is a wonderful organ. The heartbeat of a blue whale is about 12 times a minute, In a human it is about 70 beats per minute and in a hummingbird it is about 1220 times per minute. The human heart beats about 100,000 times per day and pumps about 7,500 litres of blood each day. By the time we reach age 70 our heart beats add up to about 2.5 billion beats and pumps about 200 million litres of blood, the equivalent of 3 supertankers full.

The total length of our blood vessels stretched end to end is long enough to circle the circumference of the earth 2.5 times. Capillaries make up 80% of our bodies blood vessels, they are so tiny that 2000 would fit in an area that could be covered by the head of a pin, and this makes it possible for them to deliver blood and thus food to every cell in the body. It is possible because of this to realize the seriousness of diseases of the heart. Heart disease is widespread, in 2005 almost 20 million people died worldwide, in some western countries like the United States there is one death every 30 seconds.

Strokes can lead to a dramatic increase in the quality of life. In a stroke, 50% of all people affected have paralysis on one side of their body. I can attest to the aforementioned fact. One year ago my mother suffered a massive stroke which left her completely paralysed on her left side. She is now in a nursing home with no possibility of ever walking again. There is a relationship between stokes and diabetes a disease which my mother also has. The main factors in the development of cardiovascular disease are diet and physical inactivity. Eat sensibly and keep active.